I do absolutely agree.
Transposing the Montage is a dangerous operation because there is no feedback about where you are with the transpose. I wonder how the engineers omitted a visual indicator about what key we are in.

Also, pitty that there is no direct tap tempo function somewhere on the surface. Digging into menus is not really an option when one plays live.

This is not a new request. We thank you for your input, we have not heard back from engineering on this matter.

In the meantime there are two things you can do
1) remember that touching the [SHIFT] button will cause the [-]/[+] buttons to light, indicating the direction of change, if the keyboard is indeed Transposed by semitones. Touching both [-]/[+] buttons, simultaneously, will cause the keyboard to return to normal. When the Octave is shifted, the [-]/[+] button will be lit to indicate the direction and distance of change by how it flashes — steady for 1Oct, blinks for 2Oct, blinks fast for 3Oct. I do understand that you use Semitone Transposition more than Octave change, but I’m sure you can anticipate that others have the opposite request... or at least you must allow for that possibility, right?

2) in the meantime, you can EDIT the synthesizer, then setup a Live Set that features your sound in all 12 possible keys... each slot named for its degree of change from the norm. This would be accomplished, not with the OCT/Transpose function, which is global, but by programming the synthesizer (it is programmable)... use the Part “NOTE SHIFT” parameter to edit each Part, as necessary. Part Note Shift, is editing the Tone Generator which is different from the Oct/Transpose function, which is global and affects change to the Keyboard. Once you have these Performances setup, you can place them in 12 slots of a Live Set “Page” which you can name “Piano Capo” or anything that helps you remember what the Set is about. This will give you quick access to all keys... and can be repeated for any sounds you use often.

Oct/Transpose will change what goes Out via MIDI.
Note Shift will only affect the local sound. What goes out via MIDI remains the actual key struck.

Hopefully, we will hear something soon... the engineers are clever folks... thanks again for your input.

The metronome can only be of help if it is synchronized to the song. So there should be some line stating: "IF (NewPerformance has not been started yet) AND (Key==struck) THEN synchronize metronome once".

I’m not sure exactly what you mean.

If you want to synchronize your MONTAGE with your live band, then please take advantage of what Yamaha has provided for this, (before attempting to rewrite the code), at least try out what’s on offer, tell us it doesn’t work -if that’s the case- but to ignore what’s on offer without trying it just doesn’t seem right. The MONTAGE can take tempo input from an external clock source, be it via MIDI clock, or an audible signal, or via Tap Tempo (which accessible from the HOME screen).

There are many (new) solutions for using the tempo driven content that’s available, we’d like your feedback on what works (but please start with what’s on offer currently - this will give engineering better info on how to improve it, change it, amend it, etc.) Make sense?

If you are planning on using tempo driven effects, LFOs, Arpeggios, Motion Sequences “Live” or you need to feed tempo to other members of the band, there are the old methods and there are now some new methods to try.

In my humble opinion, the worst of these is Tap Tempo... now again this is my own personal view on the subject... if I’m tapping tempo, am I doing so trying to get my Arps, LFOs, Delays, back in sync with the band (not a situation that I personally ever want to be in); the only time I want to be tapping tempo is during the count-in to the song... if I’m accessing that during the Song, then it’s already out-of-sync (something I want to avoid completely)

First thing, if you are using automated tempo in a band situation, then *hearing* the tempo is required by all players. *All* players, not just the keyboard player or as most bands do, just the (poor) drummer. Again, my personal opinion: most bands feed a click to the drummer so they have someone to *blame* when eventually timing goes wrong.

Imagine an orchestra where only the first violinist could see the conductor. The reason you want everyone in the orchestra following the conductor is obvious. Why is it not so in any band situation? So MONITOR SPEAKERS are a minimum investment if you are going to attempt to use automated clocks in a Live situation.

If the drummer *and* your automated tech are synchronized, this is usually enough to keep the rest of the members in shape... so I would work out with the drummer a method to solve the tempo issue.

This can include the MIDI SYNC = A/D Input _ this you and the drummer will need to rehearse to get a comfort zone on what works and what will totally throw things off. Respect that this is new, and requires feeding a microphone to the A/D Input of the MONTAGE. I recommend a contact microphone (Drum trigger type) for the cleanest purist signal from the kit. I’m researching some specific items for this and will post an article in the future on using this type of connectivity...

An alternate method is to use an actual third party that is responsible for establishing tempo for the band. A metronome that can feed audibly to the drummer and directly to your MONTAGE’s A/D Input or (better, imho) via USB using the MIDI SYNC = MIDI.

Yamaha makes a basic (free) iPhone/iPad Metronome App that can be used as a Conductor. You can program it, select from different sounds, do odd time signatures, etc. and connected via USB to the MONTAGE can act as the tempo source (MIDI SYNC = MIDI) and you can feed the headphone output for the drummer... since it can store setups you can put the drummer in charge of tempo (most bands do as mentioned) and they can send accurate clock to your MONTAGE. You can even Tap Tempo or turn the dial...

Thank you Bad Mister for your highly appreciated answer. My feedback:

1) Key: Yes I am aware of this. When in doubt I press the shift key. My comment is more on the one-off events for which I can not be prepared. On request of the vocalist I might change the key by one or two semitones before starting a song. When finished I should turn it back. But sometimes in a live situation, where I immediately have to start a new song, I forget to reset. Thanks for having this brought under the attention of the engineers.

2) Tempo: Yes, I do synchronize my keyboard with the A/D input and a microphone (run through a compressor) from the kick drum. What I meant to say is, that sometimes, as the keyboardplayer, I have to _START_ counting the BPM. So there is no count-in or third party. An example is Blackstreet - No diggity, or Positive Force - We've got the funk where we come from another intro and the keyboard has to start the song and set the tempo. There is no count-in, it is fluently transgressing from another. So I do set this tempo by watching the metronome in my superknob. I get confused if my count-one comes in between the flashing light, in stead of on the turn-on of the blinking. And this applies only to the (important) beginning of the song. To set the pace. Once the drummer fills-in my responsibility is taken over. Of course I can delay but that sounds like hesitating.

Like George Bernhard Shaw said in 1903: The reasonable man adapts himself to the Montage, The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the Montage to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man

Once again, it doesn't spoil my joy of being a happy Montage owner. It simply would make my life easier.

1) Key: Yes I am aware of this. When in doubt I press the shift key. My comment is more on the one-off events for which I can not be prepared. On request of the vocalist I might change the key by one or two semitones before starting a song. When finished I should turn it back. But sometimes in a live situation, where I immediately have to start a new song, I forget to reset. Thanks for having this brought under the attention of the engineers.

By using my suggestion you would not be using the the Oct/Transpose feature (global) at all so nothing to remember. You can avoid using that function all together - it is obviously not for you...
May I suggest GinkoBiloba for memory 🙂
Playing a transposed keyboard drives some keyboard players crazy as what they hear is not what they expect, if you’ve developed the skill of having pitches other than what should come out, bravo... I know some folks who couldn’t do that. Different strokes, for different folks, and so on, and so on, and scoobie-doobie-doobie.

Ideas for Tempo: it matters not, when you derive the tempo from a blinking lamp, if you do so when the light comes on or if you do so as it turns off, as long as you’re consistent. Remember it’s a reference...
If this is troubling, create a count-in Arp: create a two Measure phrase that counts off the tune. Set it to play once... you can use any sound you wish, (even your own voice counting it off as a user waveform, or a sidestick, or anything you can imagine). Arps can be set to play once, and the exact tempo can be stored in your Performance.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

@BadMister,
thank you for the hint about tap tempo! 😉

One previous thread: https://www.yamahasynth.com/forum/button-dont-light-up-when-transpose

Personally, I would like to see something blinking if not set at the standard octave - and something blinking if transposed to a different key - and two things blinking if both conditions are met (... or, at least - if either of the two are true - something blinking until both conditions are false). Then the top-line (status) of the touchscreen showing the gory details (octave and transpose). Having been bit by intros that were set to a transpose or octave shift I had done to cover a last-song-of-the-previous-set (something not normally on the set list - so I cheated and had Montage transpose) -- I now try just not to transpose and do transpositions manually to avoid the worse of two evils.

Having something "scream" at me would help. There's some comment about being able to know something is transposed by the sound. This is fine for studio work where you can press "rewind" and start over. Live - this is much more difficult to recover from - to react to what's going on when one has confidence in the fingers on the piano keys and is in "playing music" mode vs. engineer/producer mode. Also I have gigs where I get little to no monitor and have to "trust" the mains are sending the keyboard loud enough to be heard although I cannot hear it. At any rate - there is at least a group (small? minority?) of players who think some improvement could be made to visually indicate Montage is not in its non-transposed/non-octave-shifted state versus the current indicators. Any change to attempt to address this situation would be welcome.

Maybe it easy to fix the transpose is to modify the software to show the Chord info on the screen when we do the transpose and press a chord, or the screen must show us what is the transpose that we applied.

I too agree with the need of some indication that the key is transposed. In a live situation, when you start a new song and then hear that you've forgotten to set the Montage back to the normal key... very, very bad moment.
Maybe at least could it be written somewhere on the display, maybe in the head section, just like current tempo ?

Thank you very much for any improvement that could help us !